A VALUELESS CHEQUE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 56, Issue 4054, 30 May 1938, Page 4

A VALUELESS CHEQUE

ALLEGED FALSE PRETENCES. ACCUSED SENT TO GAOL. A short sitting of the Justices Court was held this morning, with Messrs G. A. Empson and W. Swain as presiding justices, when a young man named Raymond L. Boreham (Mr J. Oliphant) was charged with talso pretences in that he issued a valueless cheque, at Te Awamutu on Saturday last, to Walter C. Savill. The cheque purported to be worth £l2 ss. A plea of guilty was entered. Constable Forsyth said Boreham had been working for a building contractor named Williams at Owairaka Valley. On his own showing, he had been earning £lO 10s per week, and keep. He came off the job on Wednesday, May 17th, with a cheque for £l4 17s, and put in time at Kihikini and Te Awamutu. He had occasional meals at the Regent Lounge, and when short of money asked the proprietor for a blank cheque form, which he filled in and cashed with Mr Savill, who knew that Williams was building at Owairaka, and had handled one or two of his cheques. Savill cashed the cheque for £l2 ss» but it was returned from the bank marked “no account.”

Continuing the police said Boreham had made a statement in which he said he came to town and commenced drinking. He said he did not expect Savill to accept the name “Williams” on the cheque as a signature, but that the cheque would be referred to Williams, and that the latter would honour it, and deduct the amount from his earnings. When he asked Martin for a second cheque form this action brought him to the notice of the police, who had been informed about the first cheque. Mr Oliphant put accused in the box, and said the whole trouble was brought about by drink. He was a man who had had a good deal of trouble in his life, and had been severely punished for an earlier offence. He had never had probation. He was a married man, and his wife had hounded him to pay maintenance. This caused him to over-indulge in drink. Counsel suggested that accused be granted probation conditional on him taking out a prohibition order. Boreham went to the Hamilton races and lost all his money. There was no .question of forgery. The police mentioned that with such convictions Boreham had no right to attend a race meeting.

The Bench commented that it was rather late in the day to expect probation.

It was mentioned that accused had only been discharged fvbm. Waikeria on March 12th.

The Bench declined to grant probation, saying he had deliberately gone to a storekeeper, obtaining credit by fraud, and attempted to repeat it. This sort of thing was occurring too frequently all over the Dominion. The penalty on this occasion would be three months’.hard labour. Boreham: “Thank you.”